MR 2012 Online Colleges Opinion

[PhoenixMac]

So now that Online colleges are becoming more common, what is your opinion of them? I think they are a great alternative to people who cannot attend brick and mortar schools. I for one live in the middle of nowhere and the closest college is 50 miles away. And with my job (U.S. Air Force) it is impossible for me to commute back and forth from work to school especially with my hectic schedule.

If you like/attended an online college what was your opinion of it?
If you dislike online colleges what is your reason, and have you actually attended one or just do not like it for the sake of it.

The online college I went to was American Public University System. The courses I took were great (Intro to Ethics, Public Speaking). The textbooks were up to date and the course work was pretty good, not too hard, but not easy by any means either.

I just finished my Associates and am looking to transfer to a BBA with an HR focus. So I was wondering what you guys thought of Western Governors University if anyone has heard anything about it/attended it.

 

[Hastings101]

I think online college would be ok for people working towards their Master's, most "real" college's do that online anyway. I still think you need the traditional learning experience when earning a Bachelor's Degree.

I guess it also depends on what you're learning. I definitely wouldn't seek advice from a medical professional that was trained online.

 

[OutThere]

I'm getting my Doctorate in just a few seconds from Thunderwood College http://thunderwoodcollege.com/

Generally I am highly skeptical of for-profit education because their academic standards are often compromised for financial reasons, but Thunderwood seems trustworthy since their degrees are free.

 

[iJohnHenry]

Are you still allowed to slack-off and drink beer in your Freshman year?

 

[chrono1081]

As someone who attended both types of colleges I'll say this:

-When online college is done right, you will learn much more than in a traditional classroom because you don't get held up by the slower students.

-Online college is a ton more work (this depends on the college but the one I went to had a ton of work). Also, its not "learn at your own pace" like people thing, you usually have very strict deadlines.

-Online college is not for everyone. You have to be highly motivated and willing to learn on your own, research on your own, and be able to solve problems without asking for help since the professor will not always be there.

-Online college is generally project based (a good thing) verses test based for grading. You can cheat on a test by googling (unless the test questions are very well done) but you can't cheat on a project.

-Make sure whichever online college you choose has professors that work at a real campus as well.

-Don't pick DeVry. (Its the online school I went to, it started off excellent, much better than Penn State (my brick and mortar school) but ended terribly).

My personal preference is online school even though it was a ton more work. I liked not having set class times and I felt I learned a lot more by needing to research everything myself rather than ask a teacher. (You had one available to ask questions and further discussions and such, but I'd never bug them unless I was absolutely stumped on something.)

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I'm getting my Doctorate in just a few seconds from Thunderwood College http://thunderwoodcollege.com/

Generally I am highly skeptical of for-profit education because their academic standards are often compromised for financial reasons, but Thunderwood seems trustworthy since their degrees are free.

I was SOOOO afraid this was real at first!

 

[miles01110]

Online college graduates do not stand a chance when competing against "real" college graduates for job positions. Occasionally it's due to the stigma attached to online colleges, but usually they're simply not as qualified.

 

[PhoenixMac]

Online college graduates do not stand a chance when competing against "real" college graduates for job positions. Occasionally it's due to the stigma attached to online colleges, but usually they're simply not as qualified.

How so? Stanford offers a completely online Masters, Kansas State offers bachelors, and masters online, University of Illinois offers bachelors and masters, just to name a few and none of them have online written on them, and all of them will accept an undergrads from the online schools I've mentioned.

 

[miles01110]

How so? Stanford offers a completely online Masters, Kansas State offers bachelors, and masters online, University of Illinois offers bachelors and masters, just to name a few and none of them have online written on them, and all of them will accept an undergrads from the online schools I've mentioned.

Great. You still don't get the same level of education as if you were in a classroom. While you're correct in that "online" usually doesn't appear on the diploma, students that earn they're bachelor's degrees online usually make it pretty obvious because they usually don't compare well to their in-classroom peers. I've seen it time and time again when hiring new college graduates. And that's not even the beginning of the story when you throw in the U. of Phoenix, Capella, or Kaplan U "graduates."

 

[GoCubsGo]

Online college graduates do not stand a chance when competing against "real" college graduates for job positions. Occasionally it's due to the stigma attached to online colleges, but usually they're simply not as qualified.

That is pure BS backed up by nothing.
My MBA was done mostly online. I spent time on campus, but the majority of the work was online. It was not through a school like ITT Tech or University of Phoenix, which may be the reason it is highly regarded after all. However, you're wrong about not standing a chance when put up against someone who went to a "real" college. If you believe you're right, back up your statement, I'd love to see it.

 

[redwarrior]

Here are a couple of threads with a little bit of (heated sometimes) discussion about this

A online university or community college?
I got accepted into ITT and DeVry! Which one should I pick???

I recommend skimming them. They offer some good points with accurate information but also with completely bogus claims sprinkled in. Please realize as you do your research that everyone is partial to THEIR particular experience and tend to put down the other options, usually without much information to back up their OPINIONs.

I am finishing up my BS in CIS with DeVry this month - walking on the 26th. I was all online and think I got an excellent education. I will be starting work on my MISM next month and have chosen to go the traditional classroom route - a friend who went through the same process said that the classroom is much easier. We shall see about that.

 

[miles01110]

However, you're wrong about not standing a chance when put up against someone who went to a "real" college. If you believe you're right, back up your statement, I'd love to see it.

Personal experience tells me all I need to know. University of Phoenix, Capella, Strayer, graduates from these types of places are almost always less qualified than even grads from low-end state and community colleges. One or two technical questions (if they even get to an interview) weeds them out. There are plenty of statistics about the problems for-profit graduates face when trying to enter the workforce; I'm sure you know a website that could help you find them.

Online degrees from established institutions (like the Stanfords, U of Illinois, etc) are probably fine, and honestly I can't say I've ever known if someone I interviewed from those places had an online degree or not. Since I mainly hire engineers it's probably more of a sample size issue than anything else. Most places don't offer engineering degrees online. I'm not disputing the value of these kinds of degrees, as they are indistinguishable from "the real thing."

 

[wordoflife]

I voted number #2.
No, I wouldn't go to or recommend one unless there's a specific reason that you can't go to a "real" campus. (such as having to look after a child or something)

 

[Tomorrow]

As someone who attended both types of colleges I'll say this:

-When online college is done right, you will learn much more than in a traditional classroom because you don't get held up by the slower students.

-Online college is a ton more work (this depends on the college but the one I went to had a ton of work). Also, its not "learn at your own pace" like people thing, you usually have very strict deadlines.

-Online college is generally project based (a good thing) verses test based for grading. You can cheat on a test by googling (unless the test questions are very well done) but you can't cheat on a project.

I attended a brick-and-mortar college for graduate school, but I took a single online class. My experience was the exact opposite of yours.

I took Finance online (from a professor who also taught the class in a classroom, but not in the semester that I needed it). I was working on my MBA with a Finance concentration. I coasted through the class, earned an A, and didn't learn a damn thing. Fortunately, since my concentration was Finance I was able to "make up for lost knowledge" with other finance classes I took.

We had online lectures, notes, and tests. There were no projects. In my graduate programs (I earned an MBA and an MS), I had projects in nearly every class except this one.

The in-class experience was WAY more informative, I learned a lot more, and I got more out of the entire experience.

 

[OutThere]

That's really all that needs to be said about how well for-profit colleges prepare their students for jobs that will earn enough money to pay off the disproportionate amount of loan debt that they take on.

 

[PhoenixMac]

That's really all that needs to be said about how well for-profit colleges prepare their students for jobs that will earn enough money to pay off the disproportionate amount of loan debt that they take on.

Curious as to why a lot of people equate Online colleges with for-profit universities, while there are quite a few for-profit, there are also a few non-profit online universities as well.

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Personal experience tells me all I need to know. University of Phoenix, Capella, Strayer, graduates from these types of places are almost always less qualified than even grads from low-end state and community colleges. One or two technical questions (if they even get to an interview) weeds them out. There are plenty of statistics about the problems for-profit graduates face when trying to enter the workforce; I'm sure you know a website that could help you find them.

Online degrees from established institutions (like the Stanfords, U of Illinois, etc) are probably fine, and honestly I can't say I've ever known if someone I interviewed from those places had an online degree or not. Since I mainly hire engineers it's probably more of a sample size issue than anything else. Most places don't offer engineering degrees online. I'm not disputing the value of these kinds of degrees, as they are indistinguishable from "the real thing."

I for one would never try to take a degree like engineering online, and have no clue why others do. For degrees like that, I think you definitely need hands-on labs that you just cannot get online. But for other degrees, I think motivated people who can learn on their own be just as good as brick and mortar students.

There is a huge divide among students who go to college just to receive the Diploma to get a better pay and students who go to college to actually learn the subject they are taking.

 

[twietee]

As someone who attended both types of colleges I'll say this:

-When online college is done right, you will learn much more than in a traditional classroom because you don't get held up by the slower students.

That of course counts for both directions. Campus-life can be more than drinking contests. I learned more from fellow students than the professors,
not to mention that, what is called 'network'. Which can be quite useful.